Trenching attachment for excavating buckets



March 5, 1957 G. c. MORGAN TRENCHING ATTACHMENT FOR EXCAVATING BUCKETSFiled Feb. 14. 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

GEORGE CI MORGA N 62%, M,@%&, QM,

ATTORNEYS.

March 5, 1957 c. MORGAN TRENCHING ATTACHMENT FOR EXCAVATING BUCKETSFiled Feb. 14. 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v mmvron. GEORGE C. MORGAN A77'ORNE'YS.

Unite TRENCHING ATTACHNIENT FOREXC AVATIN G BUCKETS George C. Morgan,Williamsville, N. Y.

Application February 14, 1955, Serial No. 487,909

6 Claims. (CI. 37-98) This invention relates generally to theexcavatingart, and more'specifically to a newuand .usefnl trencher attachment forstandard excavatingbuckets.

In, many instances the bite of a standard excavating bucket is muchwider than that which is actually required.

;For example, many modern homes do not have-"a basement but insteadmerely have a foundation wall which requires only a trench having awidth of less than a foot.-

.that whereas in many instances the ground surrounding the excavation issufiiciently hard so that the settling is not a problem, the fillmaterial in the excavation is very apt to settle and thereby present aserious problem.

Special trencher machines have been developed for use when only a narrowtrench is desired, but such machines ter. For example, the contractormust either purchase an additional trencher machine, and thelargertrencher machines are quite expensive, or he must make arrange ments torent or hire a trencher whenever he needs to excavate a narrow trench,and this latter procedure is apt to be expensive and often is veryinconvenient be- States Patent .do not completely solve the problem as apractical matcause it is not always possible to secure the desiredtrencher at the particular time when it is needed.

Also, conventional large trenchers, which usually comprise a rotarywheel on which excavating buckets are mounted, must be substantiallylevel for. proper operation and they are not always satisfactory whenthe ground to. be excavated is extremely hard or rocky or comprises wet,sticky clay. Small, jeep operated trencher devices are sometimes usedbut they have a limited. capacity and also present a problem in.removing the dirt from the excavation.

Therefore, it has been my experience that conventional trencher machinesare not always practical and are in fact entirely unsuitable under some.conditions of operation, and that there is a very real need for apractical trencher device which can be used with standard excavatingequipment under substantially all conditions.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of my invention to provide atrencher attachment for use with standard excavating buckets.

Another object of my invention is to provide a trencher attachment forstandard excavating buckets which is readily attached thereto when it isdesired to excavate. a trench narrower than the bucket and equallyreadily detached therefrom when it is desired touse the excavatingbucket in the usual manner.

It is also an object of my invention to provide a trencher attachmenthaving the aforesaid characteristics and which is relatively inexpensiveand extremely durable.

2,783,558 .jPatented Mar. 5, 1957 A trencher attachment in accord withmy invention is characterized by the provision of an elongated memberadapted for attachment to an excavating bucket andhaving. an excavatingportion narrower then 'the cutting edge .of the bucket and projectingtherebeyond to form a relap'arts'broken away for greater clarity, of anexcavating bucket'w'ith my novel trencher attachment thereon, beingtaken about along line 11-11 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through an ex- -cavatorbackbucket with. my trencher device attached thereto; 7

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of my'tr'encher attachment; Fig. 5 is aperspective view of the back bucket showing the first step in attachingmy trencher device thereto;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken about on 7 line VI-VI ofFig. 3; and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional view'taken about-on line VHVII of Fig.3.

Referring now to the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 shows the trencherattachment of my invention used with a standard back bucket excavatingmachine having a :bucket generally designated 1 pivotally connected at 2to the bucket boom 3 which is in turn pivotally connected at 4 to themain boom 5. Brace rods 6 extend between the bucket boom 3 and the upperrear edge of the bucket 1 in the usual manner. A bracket 7 is pivoted tothe bucket boom 3 adjacent its connection to the .bucket and carries aWheel '8 around which the cable 9 40 trains, and a second bracket 11 iscarried by the bucket boom 3 adjacent its upper end and mounts a wheel'12 about which the cable 13 trains. Cables 9 and 13 are connected toappropriate controls, not shown, for raising, lowering and swingingbucketl in a conventional ma'nner, it being understood that the partsthus far described represent parts of a standard back bucket excavatingmachine. The trencher attachment according to my invention is indicatedgenerally at 15.

The bucket 1 has side walls 17 and a bottom wall 18 which curves alongthe bottom edges of the side walls 17 and then upwardly along therounded rear edges thereof and terminates in a relativelyshort,'forwardly' extending top Wall portion formed to provide adepending flange 19. A series of laterally spaced enlargements 21 areprovided along the forward edge of bottom wall 18, which enlargementsare recessed to provide pockets 22 slidably receiving the shanks 23 ofthe teeth or points 24. The enlargements 21 and the point shanks 23 areapertured, as indicated at 25 and 26, respectively, to receive removablelocking pins 27 therein. Whenever it is desired to remove the points, asfor sharpening: or replacement thereof, or for attaching the trencher 15as will: be

described, the pins 27 are simply removed permitting the points 24 tofall out of the pockets 22. Inaddition,

bucket 1 can be provided with conventional side cutters is built up, asby means of ,the bottom wall 30, as at 36.

wedge-shaped. side plates 32. which are welded to the bottom wall 30 anda cross plate 32' welded to plates 32, to provide an upwardly andoutwar'dly inclining bracket structure carrying, at a point intermediatethe ends of member 15, upwardly projecting parts which can correspond tothe points 24 and which include base parts 24' welded to the bracketstructure shank parts 23 are spaced laterally from each other andoutwardly from the bottom wall 30 of member 15 so as to rojectupwardlyin alinement with certain of the pockets 22 which would otherwisereceive the bucket 4 points 24. Of course, the upwardly projecting partsof ethertrencher need not correspond to the shape 'of' points 24, aslong as they fit into the pockets on the bucket.

My trencher-attachment is constructed so that, with the bucket shown inFig. having four points 24 for normal purposes, when it is desired touse the trencher attachment the two intermediate points are slipped outof their pockets 22,.as indicated in Fig. 5, by removing the a lockingpins 27 therefrom, and the parts 23' of the trencher attachment slip fitinto these vacant pockets of the bucket.

The side walls 31 are beveled adjacent the upper end of my trencherattachment, as shown at 35, so as to substantially conform to the innertop wall surface of the bucket as illustrated for example in Fig. 3. Anangle bracket 36 is secured to the member 15 adjacentthe 7 ;upper endthereof with one flange of the angle fitting between the side walls 31and welded thereto and to The other flange of the angle 36 extendsupwardly and is provided adjacent its .outer end with a transverselyelongated outwardly projecting boss 37.

The bucket 1 is provided, on the flange 19, with bracket means in theform of laterally spaced lugs 38 adapted to receive the upwardlyextending flange of angle 36 therebetween and having aligned apertures39 extending therethrough.

The upper edges of the side walls 31 are beveled along the lower portionof the trencher attachment 15, as shown at 46,'to serve as side cuttingedges. The lower edge portions of the side walls 31 are also beveled, asat 47, and

the bottom edge of the bottom wall 39 is sharpened, as at 4118, toIprovide a cutting end which will readily dig into I t esoi Inassembling my trencher attachment on this standard bucketthe centerpoints 24 are removed and the proqectmg parts 23' of the trencher areslipped into the vacant pockets 22 of the bucket in the manner describedabove. The upwardly extending flange of the angle 36 extendsgalong theterminal flange 19 of the bucket between the lugs 38, with the boss 37carried by the angle -36lying just above the aligned apertures 39through the lugs'38. A locking bar 41 having an enlarged head 42 atoneend thereof is then inserted through the alined lug apertures 39beneath the boss 37 and over the upwardly extending flange of the angle36. The other end of bar 411s apertured, as at 43', to receive a lockingpin 44.

When pin 44 is inserted through aperture 43, bar 41 is held againstlongitudinal displacement from the lug apertures by the pin 44 and theenlarged head 42, and the trencher is held between bar'41 and flange 19and is suspended from the bar 41 by the boss 37, whereby member 15 isheld against movement outwardly from the sockets 22.

. defined by plates 32 and 32 and shank parts 23. The

with my trencher attachment is that when a very deep working in therelatively deep trench.

, the cutting edge of the bucket.

.the standard excavating bucket, as distinguished from the much lighterforce applied by conventional trenchers.

This means that hard clay, and small rocks and the like will be piercedreadily and that a clean straight cut leaving substantially vertical endwalls will be provided, whereas conventional rotary trenching machinesleave end walls having a slope of approximately 45 degrees. Also,because my trencher attachment operates in the manner of an excavatingbucket the dirt which is dug by my trencher is pulled up out of thetrench to be discarded at one side in the usual manner, leaving a cleantrench.

Whereas the standard excavating bucket is relatively wide, as forexample on the order of 42 inches, and will thereby dig a trench of thatwidth, my trencher attachment is relatively narrow, having a width offor example 10 inches. Therefore, my trencher attachment enables thestandard bucket to be modified quickly to dig a narrow trench. Also, itwill be appreciated that a relatively deep trench is readily dug with mytrencher attachment without any undue problems of dirt removal,penetration through frosted soil, and the like. For example, thetrencher attachment shown in the drawing extends approximately three andone half feet beyond It will be readily appreciated, of course, that thewidth and length of my trencher attachment can be varied as desired fordifferent purposes, and that my trencher attachment can be readilyadapted for attachment to virtually any excavating bucket.

If desired, the lower end portion of my trencher attachment can beinclined forwardly to provide an angle or break adjacent the lower endthereof. In addition, the length of the trencher can be selectivelyvaried by adding a second channel shaped memberthereto, which secondchannel member can fit within the main channel member 15 and extend fromthe lower end thereof, the channel members being interconnected by, forexample, a number of carriage bolts spaced on four inch centerslengthwise of member 15 to enable several length adjustments. Also, sidecutters of the nature of those shown at 28 on the bucket 1 can beapplied to the side walls 31 of my .trencher attachment, as by means ofbolts or the like.

It will also be appreciated that the depth of the side walls 31 *can bevaried as desired.

Another advantage of an excavating bucket equipped trench is being dug,the bucket will also dig into the soil on opposite sides of the trencherand thereby provide a shelf-or table below the top surface of the soilto enable workmen to stand at a lower elevation for Accordingly, it isseen that a trencher attachment according to my invention readilyaccomplishes the aforesaid objects. It can be used with any standardexcavating bucket, and when it is desired to use my trencher attachmentall that is necessary is to remove the pins from the center teeth orpoints and slip these teeth out of their sockets. The trencherattachment parts 23' are then slipped into the vacant pockets with theupper end of the trencher attachment being placed between the lugs 38.

Bar 41 is then slipped into place and the pin 44 applied thereto. Thisis accomplished in a mere couple of minutes,

and with a minimum of effort, and provides a unique attachment which issuspended by the bar 41 when the bucket is lifted, with digging forcebeing applied thereto at the reinforced bracket provided by the parts 32and 32". When the trencher is being pulled through the soil.

the upper end of the trencher bears against the inner top wall of thebucket for holding member 15 against undue pivoting to avoid stresses atthe connection between bucket enlargements 21 and trencher parts 32,32', 24' and 23'.

When it is desired to remove my trencher attachment, pin.44 is removedand bar 41 is slipped out of lugs 38,

permitting member 15 to fall from the bucket when the latter is lifted.The points 24 are then replaced.

While only a preferred form of my invention has been illustrated anddescribed in detail herein, it will be understood that the same issusceptible of various modifications all falling within the scope of myinvention as defined by the appended claims.

Having fully disclosed and completely described my invention, togetherwith its mode of operation, what I claim as new is:

l. A trencher attachment for excavating buckets of the type open at thefront and along the top thereof and having a digging edge ofpredetermined minimum Width provided with laterally spaced recessestherealong comprising, an elongated excavating member having a diggingedge adjacent one end portion thereof, said one end portion beingnarrower than said predetermined width, laterally spaced means carriedby said member inter mediate its opposite ends for projecting into saidrecesses, and means for releasably securing the opposite end portion ofsaid member to said bucket adjacent the upper rear portion thereof withsaid laterally spaced means projecting into such recesses and with saidone end portion projecting beyond the bucket digging edge to form anextension thereof.

2. A trencher attachment for excavating buckets of the type open at thefront and along the top thereof and provided along the forward bottomedge thereof with laterally spaced pockets detachably receiving diggingteeth therein comprising, an elongated excavating member provided with adigging edge on one end thereof, means carried by said member at a pointspaced therealong from said digging edge for projecting into at leastcertain of said pockets upon removal of the teeth therefrom, and meansfor detachably securing the other end of said member to the bucketadjacent the top rear portion thereof.

3. A trencher attachment for excavating buckets of the type open at thefront and along the top thereof and having pocket means adjacent theforward bottom edge thereof and first bracket means adjacent the upperrear edge thereof comprising, an elongated excavating member providedadjacent one end thereof with a digging edge, means carried by saidmember intermediate the opposite ends thereof for engaging in saidpocket means, second bracket means carried by said member adjacent theopposite end thereof, and means for detachably securing said secondbracket means to said first bracket means with said pocket engagingmeans engaged in said pocket means and with said digging edge projectingoutwardly beyond the forward bottom edge of the bucket.

4. Excavating means comprising, in combination, a primary excavatingdevice comprising a load carrying bucket having digging teeth releasablyengaged in pockets provided along the forward bottom edge thereof andbracket means adjacent the upper rear edge thereof, and

a secondary excavating device comprising an elongated member providedadjacent one end thereof with a digging edge narrower than the forwardbottom edge of said bucket, projections carried by said memberintermediate its opposite ends for projecting into certain of saidpockets, a bracket device carried by said member adjacent the other endthereof, and means for detachably connecting-said bracket device to saidbracket means.

5. An excavating device comprising an excavating bucket open at thefront and along the top thereof, means defining laterally spacedrecesses along the forward bottom edge of said bucket, and firstconnection means carried by said bucket adjacent the upper rear edgethereof, and an elongated auxiliary excavating member of generallychannel shaped cross section having a digging edge adjacent one endthereof, said member being adapted to extend diagonally across saidbucket from said forward bottom edge thereof to said upper rear edgethereof with said digging edge projecting beyond said forward bottomedge, one end of said member being provided with a digging edge,laterally spaced parts carried by said member intermediate the oppositeends thereof for projecting into said recesses, and second connectionmeans carried by said member adjacent the other end thereof and adaptedfor releasable connection to said first connection means to hang saidmember therefrom.

6. Excavating means comprising an excavating bucket open at the frontand along the top thereof, the forward bottom edge of said bucket havingmeans providing laterally spaced pockets detachably receiving diggingteeth therein, means providing a depending flange adjacent the forwardtop edge of said bucket, and laterally spaced lugs carried by saidflange, said lugs having alined apertures therethrough, and a trencherattachment for said bucket, said attachment comprising an elongatedexcavating member of channel-shaped cross section having a digging edgeadjacent one end thereof, bracket means carried by said member adjacentthe other end thereof, said bracket means including a flange adapted toextend along said bucket flange between said lugs and having a shoulderdefining boss part projecting outwardly therefrom, a locking bar adaptedto fit through said apertured lugs over said bracket flange and beneathsaid boss part for suspending said member, and parts carried by saidmember and projecting into certain of said pockets when said member isso suspended from said bucket.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,726,463 Rogers Dec. 13, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 484,845 Great Britain May11, 1938

